It's also important to understand that TimeXchange is a service, not simply an application. The service is supported by subscribers and is published by us, ACTUS Technology. If you encounter any issues or have suggestions, please let us know by clicking on the link that says "contact us" at any time.
Now on to some definitions which will help you better understand what you can get from timeXchange.
Membership - Each person is a member of the TimeXchange network. You can have as many member accounts as you would like, but only one per each unique email address. You can also use each account for as many projects as you like, and the information you enter will only be shared with the people or persons intended, if there are any.
Originator - An originator is a concept, not a role. The originator is the person who creates the project. In creating a project, the originator may assign the role of Administrator, Manager, Supervisor, Client or Worker to himself. The access he has as an originator overrides any limitations he has to information based on his role. Only the originator can edit all the project specifics.
Dashboard - The dashboard section under the Home tab is the main place for information. You can navigate to other pages from here. You can see what is pending for you to act upon in the "Dashboard" (upper) section. You can see your account statistics - and you can edit some of your personal information from here.
Projects - This section is where you add a new project or manage the projects you have either created (Projects I Added) or been invited to (Projects I Joined). You can have both "active" and "inactive" projects. You can only edit your project's setup by entering it from the "Projects I Added" listing. You will not be able to edit projects entered through the "Projects I Joined" listing. "Inactive Projects" will not allow time and/or expense entry or reporting unless they are restored from the "Inactive Projects" page.
Time - You enter, submit, approve and monitor time submitted in this section - and this is where you can see all past time you have submitted - as well as any that have yet to be submitted.
Expenses - You enter, submit, approve and monitor expenses in this section - and this is where you can see all past expenses you have submitted - as well as any that have yet to be submitted.
Reports - This is where you generate the reports you need. "Project Team Detail" reports offers a variety of reports dealing with the entire team on a project. Only a Manager or Supervisor, an Administrator or Client will get information about the entire team. "Personal Detail" reports are reports containing information about the individual user who is requesting the report.
Project Invites - You must accept an invite to join a project. These are displayed on the "Dashboard" page as well as in the "Projects/Manage Projects" section.
Role of Administrator - Typically an administrator is someone who works in the operations department and collects time and expense reports. An administrator can bill to a project, but most often does not. Administrators can see both a bill rate and a cost rate for each resource or team member - unless that setting is changed at project setup.
Role of Manager - Managers supervise teams and generally report time to the project. They also usually approve Time and Expense reports submitted by team members. Managers can see only the billing information for each team member on a project - unless that setting is changed during project setup.
Role of Supervisor - Supervisors oversee teams and may or may not report time to the project. They also usually approve Time and Expenses submitted by team members. Supervisors can see all Billing and Cost information - unless that setting is changed during project setup.
Role of Client - Some Clients like to approve time reports, so you can include a client in a project team. Clients see the bill rate for each team member, but they do not see the cost information in their reports - unless that setting is changed during project setup.
Role of Worker - A worker is mainly defined by the fact that he does not collect or receive any time or expense submissions on a project. A Worker is generally a person who only reports time and/or expenses to a project and then submits the information to others. Workers are team members but not Management Team members. By default Workers will see cost information on reports - unless that setting is changed during project setup. Workers will only have access to their own data at any time.
Role of Team Member - A Team Member is any person who is connected to a specific project including Workers, Administrators, Managers, Supervisors and Clients. Collectively they form a Project Team.
Management Team - This term refers to those people who are in the roles of Manager, Administrator, Supervisor or Client on a project. There can be multiple people assigned to these roles - but only one in each role can be "active" at any one time. It is the "active" person in the role who is the "approver" of time and expenses for that project. Those who are "inactive" can view all submitted data in team reports, but they have no approval rights. One of the advantages of this arrangement is when a person goes on vacation or leave of absence, another in the role can be made "active" for the duration - making transition much easier.
Email Addresses - People are invited to join project teams through their email addresses associated with their TimeXchange account as entered in the appropriate place in project setup. Once added, that person is invited to the project and can start submitting weekly time and expense records after they accept their invitation.
Profile - This is your personal information. By keeping this current, you will ensure that other people have your correct contact information when creating a project or building a team. Your Profile is accessible from the "Dashboard" page.
Personalize - This feature lets you turn on and off sections you don't use such as the "My Time" section - if you do not report time. If you are an "approver" on a project, you can elect to turn off email notifications of time and expense submissions. In the future, this feature will be expanded to include more information that can be personalized.
Cost Rate - This term is self-explanatory in that it refers to the hourly rate a person costs. It may refer to a "loaded" rate that includes an employee's hourly rate plus something to cover additional costs such as a benefits factor. Or it may only capture the rate a contractor has agreed will be the charge to a project. Either way, this rate is visible internally only - to an Administrator, a Supervisor or a Worker - unless these default settings are changed during project setup.
Bill Rate - This term refers to the hourly rate that is being charged to a Client. It is visible to the Client - and to Administrators, Managers and Supervisors - but it is not visible to Workers - unless these values are changed during project setup.
Billings or Billing Information - This term refers to information calculated by multiplying the hours worked by the Bill rate.
Costs - This term refers to information calculated by multiplying the hours worked by the cost rate.
Allocated Hours - This is an option where users can budget total hours allocated to a particular project for each team member - and use that information to compare against actual hours being charged to the project. Allowing for this information to be tracked is a first step in a series of enhancements dealing with budgeted hours that will be made in the near future.
Time Reports - This term refers to documentation of time entries made through timesheets (standard time entry) or through timecards (clock punching). "Time Reports" is a term that encompasses both methods of time entry.
TimeXchange is continually evolving. We will update this section as appropriate, so please check back here when you have questions, or when you simply have not checked in a while.